1998 Bentley Continental T

Well known for being one of the most expensive production cars in the late 1990s, this Mulliner Park Ward 1998 Bentley Continental T was one that went above the £206,000 price tag when it was purchased by a Crown Arab Prince and supplied new by H.R. Owen of London.

The no-expense-spared luxury coupé was ordered to a high specification, ticking most of the options list to create the perfect Continental T.

Some of the interior options include the Black Sapphire Mica paintwork with Champagne hide leather interior with Black Sapphire hide and piping, highly figured burr walnut, fully veneered door cappings, Black Sapphire hide gear lever and inner centre console with the outside finished in Champagne hide, and a Champagne and Black Sapphire steering wheel. Externally, body-coloured headlamp surrounds were added along with door mirror supports.

The Bentley also comes with relatively low mileage and an excellent service history, which includes some recent invoices in 2023, which total in excess of £30,000.

Finished in Black Sapphire Mica, the paintwork is beautifully presented and is in excellent condition.

Starting at the front of the Continental T, the chrome grille sections are in excellent condition with a highly polished finish. As mentioned earlier, the headlight surrounds were colour-coded when ordered. There are a few very minor stone chips to the lower section of the bumper and a couple on the headlight surrounds, which are in keeping with the mileage. The headlights and indicators all have a bright finish with no damage.

Sitting at 2962mm (9’.71.7”), the Continental T is 120mm (4.72”) shorter than the Continental R. Looking down the flanks of the Bentley, there are no dings or dents to point out, the chrome window trims and door handles are all in excellent condition, and the windows are free from any noticeable scratches.

The Cresta Badge will be removed upon successful sale and not included.

Finishing at the rear, everything looks to align as it should; the badges are in excellent condition with no tarnishing, and the light lenses are free from any splits or cracks.

The original five-spoke alloy wheels are in good order with no real signs of damage or corrosion to the faces, and the centre cap ‘B’ badges look in good order. These are fitted with a new set of Pirelli P Zero Asimetrico, which were fitted in May 2023 and so are still like new, having only covered approximately 1,100 miles.

It doesn’t really get much more luxurious than this, hand-crafted and finished with a mixture of burr walnut and the finest Champagne and Black Sapphire leather hides.

Looking inside, all of the seats are in excellent condition and were specced to be finished with Champagne hide with a perforated centre section and Black Sapphire piping to match the exterior. The door cards are in equally good condition, and these have a main leather section with fully veneered burr walnut door cappings that have a polished finish.

Sitting behind the leather steering wheel, this is in excellent condition with no real signs of excessive use. The dashboard has been trimmed with Black Sapphire leather on the upper section and also inside the centre console, with the rest in Champagne leather and a burr walnut fascia. The instruments are all working as they should, and the digital odometer displays a reading of 64,513 miles. All of the switchgear is in superb condition, with no real signs of wear to any of the buttons, and everything is working as it should, including the air conditioning, which was regassed when the compressor was replaced in May 2023.

Dark blue Wilton carpets fit as they should, and these are bound with more Champagne leather to edge them nicely. The condition is excellent throughout the cabin area and inside the boot. Here you will also see two Bentley umbrellas, which were specced to come with the car when new.

Sitting within the very well-presented engine bay is the powerhouse of the Continental T, which comes in the form of a 6.75-litre V8 unit; this has been used in various other Bentleys and Rolls-Royce over the years. But the ‘T’ has a little extra which comes in the way of two Cosworth Engineering headers and a Garrett turbocharger.

This fires up without hesitation and comes to a smooth idle with just the distinct sound of a V8 purring away and there have been no issues reported with the running or driving of the car.

Coupled with the V8 is a four-speed gearbox which has a smooth change, and as you can imagine, with a turbocharged 6.75-litre engine, the Continental T pulls superbly through the gears.

At nearly 2.5 tonnes, the Bentley comes to a stop as it should. The brakes were given a check-over, and any parts were fitted that needed replacing in May 2023. This also applies to the steering and suspension, which did receive some new bushes and road springs at the same time, and with that just 1,100 miles ago, everything is in good order, and no issues have been reported.

When initially purchased, the Bentley spent the first four years of its life covered up in a heated London garage and was only used when the Prince came to the UK. In those years, it covered just 1,486 miles. It was then sold again by H.R. Owen to a well-known and successful businessman who covered around 27,000 miles.

As we look through the history of the Continental T, this is excellent, with servicing invoices present suggesting that the car has been very well maintained by main Bentley dealers or component specialists.

Two invoices which will be of great interest are those from P & A Wood, dated May and June 2023. As you will see, the car received some extensive work to ensure everything was in good order and working correctly. The price of this work came in at over £30,000, which has addressed a number of issues, making the Bentley as good as it can possibly be.

The MoT is valid until the 30th May 2025 and it passed with no advisories. The numberplate will be kept on retention should a sale be successful.

Purchased new by a Crown Arab Prince, the well-specced Bentley is in stunning condition inside and out.

The most recent invoice will be the most interesting for many people; with over £30,000 spent on bringing the Bentley back up to scratch, it will be an extremely good selling point and a huge bonus for whoever becomes the next lucky custodian of this exotic coupé.

A very exciting opportunity to own one of the most expensive Bentleys ever produced at that time.

With an excellent history and just 64,513 miles covered, we estimate this one of 300 hand-built British Bentley Continental T will fetch in the region of £60,000 - £70,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment.  To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.